What Is The Smallest Bird In the US and Canada?

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For those of you who know me, you know how I love my hummingbirds. I just purchased four more hummingbird feeders and some nectar mix. It’s a little too early to put the feeders out yet, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the hummers again this summer. I have the feeders right outside my front window and I can watch them every day. So I wondered what the smallest hummingbird is? And I guess I found the answer. It’s the calliope hummingbird, which weighs 1/10th of an ounce. Wow! It’s scientific name, I found out, is STELLULA, and that is the Latin word for “little star.” I also learned that some hummingbirds go into temporary hibernation, known as “torpor.” But, the calliope, that nests in high elevation forests, with cold weather conditions does not hibernate. Instead the female builds a deep cup nest that she lines with insulating material like plant down and this provides protection for her and her eggs, or her nestlings, on frosty nights. Just this past week as I opened a bottle of vitamins and took out the cotton, I tore it up in little pieces and had my great grandson take it out to the edge of the trees that line our front yard and “sprinkle” it along the ground. He asked WHY? I explained that the birds will pick it up and line their nests with it. I’m sure I won’t be seeing one of these tiny birds around here, because they stay at elevations of 8,000 to 11,000 feet until it’s time to migrate south to Mexico. One unusual fact I found was that these particular hummingbirds reuse or refurbish their old nests, piling as many as four on top of each other. Do you see hummingbirds in your area in warm weather? The picture is not the calliope hummingbird. It is a hummingbird and the credit goes to Pixabay.com again.